The Dell Inspiron Mini Series is a line of
subnotebook
Subnotebook, also called ultraportable, superportable, or mini notebook, was a marketing term for laptop computers that are smaller and lighter than a typical notebook-sized laptop.
Types and sizes
As typical laptop sizes have decreased over t ...
/
netbook
Netbook was a commonly used term that identified a product class of small and inexpensive laptops which were sold from 2007 to around 2013. These machines were designed primarily as cost-effective tools for consumers to access the Inte ...
computers designed by
Dell
Dell is an American based technology company. It develops, sells, repairs, and supports computers and related products and services. Dell is owned by its parent company, Dell Technologies.
Dell sells personal computers (PCs), servers, data ...
. The series was introduced in September 2008 amidst the growing popularity of low-cost netbook computers introduced by competitors.
9 Series
The Dell Inspiron Mini 9 (also called the Inspiron 910), was announced on September 4, 2008, as a
netbook
Netbook was a commonly used term that identified a product class of small and inexpensive laptops which were sold from 2007 to around 2013. These machines were designed primarily as cost-effective tools for consumers to access the Inte ...
set to contend with other low-cost ultra-portables such as the
ASUS Eee PC
The ASUS Eee PC is a netbook computer line from Asus, and a part of the ASUS Eee product family. At the time of its introduction in late 2007, it was noted for its combination of a lightweight, Linux-based operating system, solid-state drive (S ...
and
Acer Aspire One. The Mini 9 was also sold as the
Dell Vostro A90 by the Dell Small Business Unit.
The Mini 9 began shipping on September 16, 2008, starting at US$349.
[Engadget](_blank)
“Dell's Inspiron Mini 9 pops official – starts at $349”. It is built by
Compal Electronics, which also makes the
MSI Wind Netbook
The MSI Wind Netbook was a family of subnotebooks / netbooks designed by Micro-Star International (MSI). Wind stands for "Wi-Fi Network Device". The first model was announced at CeBIT 2008, and first listed for pre-orders on May 9, 2008. Whil ...
and the
HP Mini-Note 2133.
[Apcmag](_blank)
“Up close with Dell’s Eee PC killer”.
It is Dell's first netbook. It was retired on May 29, 2009.
Features
SSD/ Ubuntu Netbook Remix
Dell initially shipped versions of the Mini 9 with only partially usable storage, after models were built using a software image that fit just the basic 4GB SSD. Standard operating system upgrades later fixed the issue.
SSD
The Mini 9 uses a very special SSD drive. It is a 50mm solid state module (MO-300A) with mini PCIe interface. It uses IDE/PATA signal, so replacing it with a module with SATA signal won't work, although it will fit in the socket.
Battery capacity
In January, it was suspected that some units were shipping with 24 watt-hour capacity batteries, labeled as 32 watt-hour. The low-capacity batteries appear to be those manufactured in
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
. It was later determined that the software used to examine the batteries was incorrectly reporting the capacity and has since been reported to be fixed with an upgrade of the BIOS.
Specifications
* Processor: Intel Atom N270.
* Memory: 512 MB, 1 GB or 2 GB of shared dual channel DDR2 SDRAM @ 533 MHz.
* Chipset: Intel US15W Express.
* Graphics: integrated Intel
GMA 950
The Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) is a series of integrated graphics processors introduced in 2004 by Intel, replacing the earlier Intel Extreme Graphics series and being succeeded by the Intel HD and Iris Graphics series.
This series ...
.
* LCD Display: 8.9" LED-backlit widescreen with 1024 × 600 resolution.
* Storage: 8 or 16 GB SSD (Windows XP Home Edition SP3 32-bit), or 32 GB (Ubuntu Linux version 8.04.1) SSD.
* Optical Drive: None;
* Battery: 4-cell (32 Whr) lithium-ion battery.
* Camera: 0.3 MP webcam.
* Wi-Fi Card: Dell Wireless 1395 802.11g mini-card.
* Bluetooth: Dell Wireless Bluetooth Internal 350 (2.0).
* I/O ports: 3 USB 2.0 ports, 1 Fast Ethernet port, 1 3-in-1 memory card reader, 1 VGA output, 1 headphone jack, 1 microphone jack, and 1 power adapter port.
10 Series
Dell Inspiron Mini 10 (1010)
The Mini 10 (1010) is a netbook with a 10.1" screen that was designed to fill the gap between the Mini 9 and Mini 12. It began shipping on February 26, 2009 with a base price of US$399.
It has the
Intel Atom
Intel Atom is the brand name for a line of IA-32 and x86-64 instruction set ultra-low-voltage processors by Intel Corporation designed to reduce electric consumption and power dissipation in comparison with ordinary processors of the Intel Cor ...
Z520 and Z530 processor configurations. The default Mini 10 model has a 16:9 widescreen display with a 1024x600 (originally 1024x576) or 1366x768 (described as 720p) HD resolution and an
HDMI
High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) is a proprietary audio/video interface for transmitting uncompressed video data and compressed or uncompressed digital audio data from an HDMI-compliant source device, such as a display controller, ...
port. It uses the
Poulsbo chipset. It can be customized with GPS or integrated TV tuner. The service manual displays two full-height MiniPCI-E internal slots, and one half-height. It is unclear whether the connectors are all in place, but the manual shows one full-height TV tuner in place.
The device also features a
multi-touch
In computing, multi-touch is technology that enables a surface (a touchpad or touchscreen) to recognize the presence of more than one somatosensory system, point of contact with the surface at the same time. The origins of multitouch began at CER ...
touchpad. Provided with a driver from Elantech, it can be used for scrolling, 3 button operation, dragging, resizing, rotating pictures and system shortcuts as Start Menu and Explorer (on Windows), browser back and forward, minimizing and maximizing windows, window switching, desktop showing and hiding, and running custom commands.
Dell Inspiron Mini 10v (1011)
To fill the gap left when the Mini 9 was discontinued, Dell introduced a 'value' version, the Inspiron Mini 10v, which ships with a standard
VGA
Video Graphics Array (VGA) is a video display controller and accompanying de facto graphics standard, first introduced with the IBM PS/2 line of computers in 1987, which became ubiquitous in the PC industry within three years. The term can no ...
connector, 1024x600 resolution display (1024x576 on early models) and the same Atom N270 processor that the Mini 9 used (an optional upgrade to the N280 was briefly later available.) In fact, the 10v has nearly exactly the same hardware as the Mini 9 and, as such, is also able to run
Linux
Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, which ...
. The Mini 10v has since been discontinued.
:
(The Dell Mini 10v is one of, if not the most, popular or 'compatible' netbook and/or laptop to be " Hackintoshed".)
Dell Inspiron Mini 10v Nickelodeon Slime Edition
The Inspiron Mini 10 Nickelodeon Slime Edition was created from a partnership between Dell and
Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...
. The laptop had a white lid with the "slime" design, ran
Windows XP
Windows XP is a major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. It was released to manufacturing on August 24, 2001, and later to retail on October 25, 2001. It is a direct upgrade to its predecessors, Windows 2000 for high-end and ...
and had a custom "slime"-themed GUI made using
StarDock
Stardock Corporation is a software development company founded in 1991 and incorporated in 1993 as Stardock Systems. Stardock initially developed for the OS/2 platform, but was forced to switch to Microsoft Windows due to the collapse of the OS/ ...
's
MyColors. It included parental controls using
McAfee
McAfee Corp. ( ), formerly known as McAfee Associates, Inc. from 1987 to 1997 and 2004 to 2014, Network Associates Inc. from 1997 to 2004, and Intel Security Group from 2014 to 2017, is an American global computer security software company head ...
's Family Safety. System folders were blocked as well. The desktop featured gadgets linking to Nickelodeon's website and another that linked to
Whyville
Whyville is an educational Internet site geared towards children from ages 8–14+ founded and managed by Numedeon, Inc. Whyville engages its users in learning about a broad range of topics, including science, business, art and geography. Whyvi ...
.
Dell Inspiron Mini 10 (1012)
The Mini 10 (1012) has a similar form factor to the older Mini 10 (1010) and 10v (1011); it is distinguished by the use of the newer
Atom n450
Intel Atom is the brand name for a line of IA-32 and x86-64 instruction set ultra-low-voltage processors by Intel Corporation designed to reduce electric consumption and power dissipation in comparison with ordinary processors of the Intel Cor ...
processor, and its supporting chipset. The HDMI port is also replaced with a standard VGA connector.
Dell Inspiron Mini 10n
Dell released the Mini 10n based on the Mini 10. The only difference between the 10n and the 10 (1012) is the installed OS has been changed to Ubuntu
Moblin
Moblin, short for 'mobile Linux', is a discontinued open source operating system and application stack for Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs), netbooks, nettops and embedded devices.
Built around the Intel Atom processor, all builds were designed to ...
Remix Developer Edition, bridging Canonical's Ubuntu and Intel's Moblin graphical environment and Atom optimizations.
Dell no longer preinstalls full Ubuntu releases on the Mini 10n. Because this model uses a standard Intel platform, Ubuntu (or almost any other up-to-date Linux distribution) can be installed by an end user.
The Mini 10n hardware is the same as the newer version of the Mini 10 with the Atom N450 CPU, 160G disk and NM10 video. It does not have an available option to add the "media processor" upgrade as on the Windows version of the 1012 which can allow better performance for full-motion video, particularly from HD sources.
Dell Inspiron Mini (1018)
On August 19, 2010, Dell Europe announced the introduction of the Dell Mini 1018. This new Dell Mini features the Atom N455 CPU which supports DDR3 memory. Design has also been tweaked and stated specs include 7+ hours of battery life on the 6-cell battery (unconfirmed). As of January 2011, the model has been made available in Asia. The Asian release of the 1018 features 1GB of DDR3 RAM and is shipped with Windows 7 Starter as well as Office 2010 starter.
However the N455 is actually 64-bit and
Hyper Threading capable, and thus is actually capable of running 64-bit variants of Windows 7.
Specification comparison
12 Series
The Dell Inspiron Mini 12 (also known as Dell Inspiron 1210) was released online on October 16, 2008 and announced on October 26, 2008 as a larger counterpart to the Mini 9. It was mainly created for the
netbook
Netbook was a commonly used term that identified a product class of small and inexpensive laptops which were sold from 2007 to around 2013. These machines were designed primarily as cost-effective tools for consumers to access the Inte ...
market, with a secondary goal of competing with
subnotebook
Subnotebook, also called ultraportable, superportable, or mini notebook, was a marketing term for laptop computers that are smaller and lighter than a typical notebook-sized laptop.
Types and sizes
As typical laptop sizes have decreased over t ...
s. It began shipping on December 8, 2008, with a starting price of $549.
The netbook originally shipped with Windows Vista Home Basic SP1 32-bit, but an option for XP Home SP3 32-bit was added a month later. It was criticized for being slow with Vista. It was retired on August 7, 2009.
Features
It features a 12.1 inch (1280x800) WXGA Truelife widescreen display running on a 1.33 GHz or 1.6 GHz
Intel Atom
Intel Atom is the brand name for a line of IA-32 and x86-64 instruction set ultra-low-voltage processors by Intel Corporation designed to reduce electric consumption and power dissipation in comparison with ordinary processors of the Intel Cor ...
Silverthorne CPU, and comes bundled with Windows XP Home or Ubuntu 8.04. It comes with 1GB of RAM (the maximum for the device), a 40/60/80GB
hard drive
A hard disk drive (HDD), hard disk, hard drive, or fixed disk is an electro-mechanical data storage device that stores and retrieves digital data using magnetic storage with one or more rigid rapidly rotating platters coated with magnet ...
, and a small speaker located above the keyboard.
For connectivity, the device carries
WiFi
Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio waves ...
and 3
USB
Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard that establishes specifications for cables, connectors and protocols for connection, communication and power supply (interfacing) between computers, peripherals and other computers. A broad ...
ports. A 1.3 MP
webcam
A webcam is a video camera which is designed to record or stream to a computer or computer network. They are primarily used in videotelephony, livestreaming and social media, and security. Webcams can be built-in computer hardware or peripheral d ...
and internal bluetooth are available as options. The Dell Inspiron Mini 12 is 1.1 inches thick and weighs 3.2 pounds (with six-cell battery), or 2.8 pounds (with three-cell battery).
In dell black and silver colour. The outside is shiny black. On site one year warranty by Dell.
Specifications
* Processor: Intel Atom Z520 or Z530.
* Memory: 512 MB or 1 GB of shared dual channel DDR2 SDRAM @ 533 MHz.
* Chipset: Intel US15W Express.
* Graphics: integrated Intel
GMA 500
The Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) is a series of integrated graphics processors introduced in 2004 by Intel, replacing the earlier Intel Extreme Graphics series and being succeeded by the Intel HD and Iris Graphics series.
This series ...
.
* Display: 12.1" LED-backlit widescreen with 1280 × 800 resolution.
* Storage: 32, 40 or 60 GB PATA HDD@ 5,400 RPM.
* Optical Drive: None;
* Battery: 3-cell (24 Whr) or 6-cell (48 Whr) lithium-ion battery.
* Camera: 1.3 MP webcam.
* Wi-Fi Card: Dell Wireless 1395 802.11g mini-card.
* Bluetooth: DelI Wireless Bluetooth Internal 350 (2.0).
* I/O ports: 3 USB 2.0 ports, 1 Fast Ethernet port, 1 3-in-1 memory card reader, 1 VGA output, 1 headphone jack, 1 microphone jack, and 1 power adapter port.
Successor
While not labelled an "Inspiron Mini" or marketed as a netbook, the
Inspiron 11z has replaced the Mini 12 in most markets and occupies a similar position in the model line.
See also
*
Comparison of netbooks
These tables provide a comparison of netbooks.
Aspects of netbooks that should be considered:
* Mouse layout that is used. Touchpad with 2-buttons below, or touchpad with buttons on each side. The latter may make it hard with some operations nee ...
*
Dell Mini 5
*
Quiet PC
A quiet, silent or fanless PC is a personal computer that makes very little or no noise. Common uses for quiet PCs include video editing, sound mixing and home theater PCs, but noise reduction techniques can also be used to greatly reduce the noi ...
References
{{Linux devices
Inspiron Mini Series
Discontinued products
Subnotebooks
Linux-based devices
Netbooks